Therefore God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name which is above every name, …

— Philippians 2:9

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, he told specifically what the child to come was to be named: “you will … call his name JESUS” (Luke 1:31). The angel was but a messenger of God, who Himself chose the name of His one and only Son.

His name was Jesus. But why Jesus? Of course, to understand that, we would have to understand that Jesus is an English word. The New Testament and the Old Testament were not written originally in English, but in Hebrew and Greek, respectively. We get the name from the Greek.

His name was Jehoshua, or as we would say it, Joshua, meaning savior. That was the name of a great champion, a great hero of the Old Testament Hebrew people. It was the name of the great conqueror, the captain of the Lord’s hosts, who led the people of God into the promised land.

And so our Savior will lead us into the promised land.

At the name of Jesus, sorrow and sadness flees. At the name of Jesus, sinners are cleansed and converted. At the name of Jesus, saints are gladdened and strengthened. At the name of Jesus, evil is banished and fear must flee. At the name of Jesus, the wounded are made whole.

Question to ponder:
Can you think of anything else that the name of Jesus accomplishes?